My Kid Circus

I am writing this on our last morning in China. I can hardly believe that. Most of our group won’t be leaving until the end of this week, but since our Consulate Appointment was early in the week, we are free to leave tonight. At the beginning of this trip, I felt like we were one of the lucky ones who got to leave early. Now I feel a little bit like we are one of the unlucky ones who have to leave early. We are all sad about the end of our time in China. I sure can’t wait to hug K and D at home though!!!!

Yesterday morning we went to the U.S. Consulate for our appointment. This was the all important appointment that all of our travel had to be planned around. We went with only 2 other families in our group, however there were many other people there at the same time.

We first had to go through security. We were warned that you are not allowed to bring any electronics into the Consulate, so I had left my phone and camera in the hotel room. As they scanned my bag, they insisted that I had some electronics in my bag. I dug through, pulling everything out, until we found the culprit. Hannah’s orange plastic cell phone. They seriously confiscated it!

We then went into a big room where we all had to stand with our right hand up and say an oath together. Then we were called up to a desk one by one to sign some paperwork. And just like that, our appointment was done! We will get Hannah’s visa this afternoon, and will be cleared to take her home!!

After our appointment, I went with our group to the “Pearl Market”. This turned out to be the size of a 6 story shopping mall, with tiny jewelry stores on every inch. Our guides took us to the top floor, to a small store in the back, where they said the owners were reputable and sold good quality pearls. It was really fun to look at the pearls strand by strand. I choose 2 strands that they made into bracelets for each of my girls, and for my future daughter-in-laws, when my kids get married. They all have a beautiful clasp that says “Happiness” and “Long Life” in Chinese.

Z spent the afternoon playing legos with his friend, Ben. I think he had as good of a time as he has had any other day on this trip! 🙂

We celebrated our final night in China with a dinner cruise on the river. It was absolutely gorgeous. We loved standing outside and seeing the city from the water. We even saw the second tallest building in the world, which was lit up in a rainbow of colors. Luckily we were told beforehand that the food is terrible, so we ate beforehand. The atmosphere, however, could not have been better. We loved it!

Now we are off to enjoy our final day in China! We leave for the Hong Kong airport tonight at 6:30.

Hannah's "red couch" photo. A tradition for adoptive families in Guangzhou.

We are having such a great time learning about our girl. She makes us laugh so many times every day, and our hearts are full at the sight of her smile and the funny things that she does.

This is one of her tricks that we are loving.  She started mimicking Jeff lifting his eyebrows.  (Sorry if you already saw the video.  We are having some technical troubles, so we are posting it again.  🙂 )

Yesterday afternoon we took our flight from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou, which is in the southern part of China.

This morning, we had to take all of the children for medical exams.

These exams are a formality, and by no means were they thorough. For most people, it was a cursory look over and then some signatures. We waited in a very long, hot line for a while, and then it was our turn. It was a very small space, so Jeff waited with Z in the waiting room. They read over some of Hannah’s medical reports and then tried to listen to her heart. At first there was a doctor and a nurse. They both attempted to listen to her chest, while she screamed. Then they called in another doctor who tried to listen to her. They then all had a conversation, and seemed to come to some agreement. Then they said, “come with us please”.

Let me tell you, I was terrified. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but it appeared that her heart did not sound like they thought it should. I called for Jeff, and they led us to another room where there were another 3 doctors. Hannah now had at least 4 people trying to listen to her chest while they quickly talked among each other.

I was shaking by that point. It was horrible not knowing what they were saying about my baby. And let there be no mistake; she is absolutely, totally, and fully my daughter. The fear that was in me today was the fear of a mother. No question.

Finally they told me that they could still hear a heart murmur. They asked about her eating and activity level, which are both great, and then said that she seems good, but to have her followed up by a cardiologist at home. (That was our plan anyway). It was a bit of a wake up call. We are assuming everything went well with Hannah’s heart repair, but we won’t know that until we get home. Our friend who is fluent in Chinese was later able to tell us that most likely they just kept calling people over to hear Hannah’s heart because they don’t see many children who have had Tetralogy of Fallot, and they were curious. Arg.

The rest of our day was wonderful. We explored Shamian Island, which is very similar to Savannah, GA. There are big trees, cobblestone streets, and fun shops. We had a great time exploring together as a family.

I am even becoming pretty good at haggling (not something I like to do!!).  I carry around my little calculator so I am prepared to negotiate.  One woman said, “Wow, you are tough.  How long have you been here??”.  Ha!

If anyone is coming to Guangzhou any time soon, please visit Jordan’s. Jordan is such a wonderfully kind shop owner, who we had a great time talking to. While we were in there, I even met 2 people that are part of the online community that I have loved during my wait to come to China. She recognized me from my blog. That was so fun! Hello Rumor Queen friends!!

We are just absolutely loving our time in China.  It is hard to believe that we only have 3 more days!

Yesterday we took a day trip that will forever be imprinted on my heart. We went in a van on a 3 hour trip with 2 other families to PuYang City Social Welfare Institute.  This is the orphanage that Hannah was in for the first 2 months after she was found, and was also in for the past 2 months.  The day we met Hannah, we found out that she had been moved from the Lily Orphan Care Center that she had been in in LuoHe, and back to PuYang to prepare for her adoption.

We were greeted with a very warm welcome from the orphanage director, and many of the women who work in the orphanage.  They were taking pictures of us, and seemed genuinely thrilled to see us.  We found out this was only the 3rd time that families had come back to visit the orphanage.  Hannah seemed fine being back there, but would not let anyone take her out of my arms.  I took that as a good sign that the attachment process is going well.  It was a pretty wonderful feeling to have her choose me.  We chose her a long time ago, but she has only had a few days with me. 🙂

They gave us a short tour of the orphanage, but asked us not to take very many pictures. We walked into a big open courtyard that was surrounded on all four sides with a 2 storied building.  There were many doors around the perimeter of each floor, each with plastic hanging pieces instead of doors. They led us to the door of the room that Hannah had been living in.  It was 2 small rooms that were attached, one with 3 metal cribs, and one with 1 metal crib and an adult bed.  They told us that they divided the children into “families”.  There was a “Mama” in Hannah’s house, with the 4 small children.  They referred to the other workers in the orphanage as “ayi”, or “aunt”.  Hannah’s Mama seemed very happy to see her, but laughed when she only wanted to stay with me.  She showed us that Hannah’s bed was the one that was in her room, and when we put Hannah in it, she got a huge smile and began playing for her audience.

The main courtyard

Hannah's "Mama"

Hannah eventually warmed up to her "Mama"

We also saw a small classroom for the older children where they were having class.  This seemed to consist of a group of varying age children who had a handful of toys on a table, that were clearly meant for preschoolers.  They were very happy to see us though, and were excited to sing us several songs.

We then saw a small physical therapy room, where a woman was working with 2 children with some of the equipment.  It was the most colorful and well equipped room that we saw.  This orphanage was obviously a place with very little means, but they clearly loved the kids, and did everything they could for them.

After our tour, the orphanage director treated us to a wonderful lunch in a local restaurant.  Actually, feast was more like it.  There were SO many different kinds of wonderful, authentic, Chinese food.  Some things were easily identified, and some things we had to ask about.  We really enjoyed  some steamed buns with pork and vegetables, roasted chicken, spicy mushrooms and green beans, deep fried sweetened eggplant, and some sort of clear noodles.  We decided to pass on the donkey meat.  It was such a special opportunity to be dining with this wonderful man.  No one at the orphanage spoke any English, so we were so fortunate to have a Chinese speaking father with our group, who was able to translate for all of us.

After lunch, we drove to the “finding spot” for Hannah and our friend’s baby.  It was a really emotional experience to me to be standing where my sweet girl was left by her birth mother on the side of the road.  Many people feel like this part of an adopted child’s story belongs to them, and will not publicly share it.  I absolutely respect and understand that viewpoint, but after some discussion, we have decided that we will tell about this part of our journey.  The first reason is because I know so many people have been supporting us and praying for us for so long, and I think it will give you a more full picture of Hannah.  The other reason is because I am truly hoping that someone out there following my blog will be led down this adoption path too.  I’m hoping that you can see these pictures and imagine a precious child being left there.  I’m hoping that you understand that  Hannah’s story is so far from unique.  It is very much the same as countless thousands of other children.  There are so many children that need homes.  So so many.

Hannah was left when she was about 2 months old.  We weren’t sure the exact spot, but we knew that she was left under a tree at the opening of this small village, which must be down this road.  The dear women from the orphanage did everything that they could to get us all of the information possible, but we will have to be content with the general area.  They were able to tell us that she was left with 2 bottles, a large one and a small one, and a few diapers.  They said that  when she was brought to the orphanage, her mouth and fingers were blueish, which let them know immediately that she had something wrong with her heart.  This very well could be the reason that Hannah’s birth family was not able to keep her.  They most likely did not have the funds to give her the care that she needed.

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She was quite possibly left along this road

Saying goodbye to these wonderful people

It was a truly incredible day.  I feel so fortunate that we will be able to give Hannah even these precious little pieces of her history.

Yesterday we had a touring day.  We drove several hours to Shao Lin Temple.  We walked around the gorgeous temple that housed over a thousand years of Buddhist monks.

We also went to a Kung Fu show.  I think that is sure to be one of the highlights of Z’s trip.  One of the main performers in the show must have been about 6 years old himself.

Z and his friend practicing their Kung Fu moves

Z the Kung Fu Master

Unfortunately, this long, rainy trip will not be a highlight for sweet Hannah.  We got to hear some crying, thats for sure!

Hannah was a movie star too. I sure wish I knew what the little old ladies were trying to tell me. I just did a lot of smile and nodding!

Like most of us, food cheers her right up. 🙂

A definite highlight for me, Hannah said, “Mama!”.  Oh, melt my heart.

Today, we are driving several hours to visit her orphanage.  I am very eager to see the place that Hannah spent much of her young life, and get to meet some of the women that obviously gave her great care.  I’m hoping the trip is not too hard on Hannah…